LOCATION INFORMATION IN PRESENCE

• US 20090210802A1
• Filed: 02/19/2008
• Published: 08/20/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Sharma, Kapil, Bhattacharjee, Avronil, Hawkins, Quinn
• Application Number:
  US12/033,861
• Publication Number:
  US 20090210802A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/753
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1818 Conference organisation arrangements, e.g. handling schedules, setting up parameters needed by nodes to attend a conference, booking network resources, notifying involved parties
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/148 Migration or transfer of sessions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel

Abstract

Architecture that facilitates the combining and presentation of location information with presence information in a communications system. The location information can be virtual location information published from a location source and/or associated location systems to a presence system. The presence system then makes the virtual location information available to end users as participants to a conferencing session, for example, or as invites to the session. The location information and/or the presence information can be made active (e.g., a hyperlink) such that when selected as presented to a user, automatically joins the user to the session.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented communications system, comprising:

an input component for receiving location information of entities associated with entity locations; and

a presence component for combining the location information with presence information for presentation in association with a conferencing session.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a client-based communications application for receiving and presenting the combined location information and the presence information in association with a roster of usernames and, presenting the combined location information and presence information of a user in response to hovering on a corresponding username.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the communications application presents one or more additional options for obtaining more detailed information about the session and session participants.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the location information is virtual location information that defines a virtual location of an entity and, is converted and presented in a user understandable format.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the virtual location information is actionable such that a user can join the session by selecting the virtual location information.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the virtual location information is provided to a session invitee in a message as a user interactionable item, the item including a session identifier as a URI and based on SIP (session initial protocol).

7. The system of claim 4, wherein the virtual location information includes a session identifier.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the virtual location information is provided to a session invitee in an email and in the form of an HTTP link which when selected joins the invitee into the session.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the location information is received from a virtual source that publishes the location information to a presence system, the presence system sending the combined location information and presence information to a client program for presentation and user interaction.

10. A computer-implemented method of providing communications information, comprising:

receiving presence information related to presence of an entity;

receiving location information related to location of the entity;

combining the presence information and the location information; and

presenting the combined location information and the presence information in association with a communications session.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the location information defines virtual or physical location of a user or user device.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising automatically joining the entity to the session in response to selection of an active link.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising publishing the location information and the presence information to another entity one or more of before, during, or after a communications session.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising presenting one or more of the presence information or the location information based on permission.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising pulling the presence information from a presence source or the location information from a source of the location information.

16. The method of claim 10, further comprising presenting additional information in addition to the presence information and the location information.

17. The method of claim 10, further comprising providing a link to the session according to a communications technology, the link including the presence information and location information, and the selection of the link connecting the entity to the session.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the communications technology includes email and text messaging, and the link included therein includes at least one of URI or a URL.

19. A computer-implemented method of providing communications information, comprising:

sending presence information and virtual location information related to a multimedia communications session to a client application;

presenting the presence information and the virtual location information to a user of the client application as an active link; and

joining the user to the multimedia communications session based on selection of the active link by the user.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising joining the user to the multimedia communications session via at least one of an audio channel technology or a video channel technology.